Magical girl
is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga which features girls who use magic. Although the genre has origins in Japan, it has been used as a motif outside Japan in Western works such as Miraculous Ladybug, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Steven Universe, Winx Club and W.I.T.C.H.. Genre history Anime and manga Manga and anime historians regard the Princess Knight manga, released in 1953, as the prototype for the magical girl genre. Himitsu no Akko-chan, serialized nine years later (1962) in Ribon, is generally accepted to be the earliest magical girl manga. Sally the Witch, adapted from the manga of the same name, is regarded by historians as the first magical girl anime. Sally the Witch was inspired by the Japanese dub of the television series Bewitched. Mahōtsukai Chappy (1972) and Majokko Megu-chan (1974–1975) popularized the term "majokko" (little witch) as a name for the genre. Megu-chan has been noted for its portrayal of multiple magical girls and the friendship between girls. Due to the women's lib movement in Japan, magical girls began displaying a "certain coquettishness" in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Magical Princess Minky Momo (1982) and Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel (1983–1984) showed girls transforming into a "grown-up image of themselves". This has been linked to the increasing prominence of women at this time (such as politician Doi Takako, the girl band Princess Princess and pop idol Seiko Matsuda) and the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in 1985. Kumiko Saito argues that magical girl anime is best understood as "twenty-five-minute advertisements for toy merchandise", highlighting the high production costs and the involvement of Bandai in Sailor Moon and Precure. She acknowledges that despite this and the childish plots, magical girl anime discuss gender roles and identities. The Sailor Moon manga and anime are considered to have revitalized the genre in the 1990s and paved the way for later successful titles. A key feature of the heroines of Sailor Moon is that their transformations make them look more feminine, as well as make them stronger. The romantic relationship between Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba and Usagi's care for her future daughter, Chibiusa are seen as points of difference between Sailor Moon and "typical Western superheroines". Another notable example is Cardcaptor Sakura, with its manga and subsequent animated series being highly popular in and outside Japan. After 2003, magical girl anime marketed to male audiences such as Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha became a prolific trend alongside the traditional female-oriented works The magical girl genre earned renewed popularity in the 2010s with the advent of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, whose mature themes and darker approach earned acclaim from viewers and critics outside its target audience. Magical "boy" works Some series are notable for portraying "magical boys" as protagonists instead of the traditional supporting roles. Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! is a 2015 television magical boy anime series created by Kurari Umatani and produced by Diomedéa, which parodies tropes and cliches common to magical girl anime. In Is This a Zombie?, a zombie is resurrected by a necromancer after being killed by a serial killer, inadvertently gains "magical girl" powers, and is forced to become a "magical boy" (and thereby crossdress) in the process. In Shugo Chara!, released in 2006, half of the series' main characters are males that possess the same powers as their female counterparts. In non-Japanese works The Italian animated series Winx Club uses a magical girl concept for its main characters, including transformations for each character. This concept also appears in the Italian comic book series W.I.T.C.H. and its animated adaptation, featuring five teenage girls with powers over the five classical elements. In 2014, LoliRock debuted as a French anime-influenced animation series of the genre, and contains many references to Japanese magical girl franchises. Miraculous Ladybug blends magical girl conventions with modern superhero action and adventure storytelling. Ragazze dell’Olimpo (Girls of Olympus), an Italian series by Elena Kedros, portrays a trio of magical girls who are reincarnations of the Olympian goddesses. See also * Bewitched * Girl Heroes * I Dream of Jeannie * Super Sentai * Superheroine References Further reading * * Category:Anime and manga terminology Category:Female stock characters in anime and manga Category:Magical girl Category:Magical girl anime and manga Category:Magical girl anime and manga characters Category:Magic in fiction